Cable closure

ABSTRACT

A splice protection sleeve flange includes means for clamping a cable, a seal interposed between two rings, one of which can move along the cable, and a frustoconical threaded part which is screwed into the flange and acts both on the moveable ring and on the clamping means. In another aspect, a device for clamping a cable includes a ring on which fingers are each mounted in the form of a hinge, the free end of each finger terminating in a claw turned inwardly towards the axis YY′ of the ring and, on the side of the plane where the fingers do not lie, there is provided a means which, by shape complementarity, is intended to cooperate with another clamping device of the same shape but having a ring diameter greater or smaller than a value equal to the largest radial dimension of the fingers.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a United States national application claimingpriority to International Application No. PCT/EP02/07394, filed on Jun.20, 2002, which claims priority to French Patent Application No.01/08598, filed Jun. 29, 2001, and French Patent Application No.01/08601, filed Jun. 29, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cable closures, especially to spliceprotection sleeves as part of cable closures used in thetelecommunications field for the purpose of protecting a cable,especially a power cable or a telephone cable such as a fibre-opticcable. Furthermore, the present invention relates to devices as part ofcable closures for clamping a cable, especially a power cable or atelephone cable, such as a fibre-optic cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Federal Republic of Germany Patent Application No. 19958112.6 disclosesa splice protection sleeve comprising a shell closed by two flanges.Each flange defines a passage for a cable. The flange includes means formechanically clamping the cable. These means are intended to bepositioned around the cable once the latter has been placed in thepassage and to clamp it. Independently of these clamping means, there isprovided a seal interposed between two rings into which the cable isslipped. At least one of the rings can move along the cable and isdisplaced by means of a slide. This ensures both mechanical clamping ofthe cable and sealing of the splice protection sleeve.

However, this is achieved only by putting up with a lengthy fittingoperation to be carried out since it is necessary, on the one hand, toput the clamping means in place and, on the other hand, to clamp theseal between the two rings.

The subject of the invention is a quick-fit splice protection sleeve.

According to the invention, the slide is a frustoconical threaded partwhich is screwed into the flange by being slipped into the passage viaits larger transverse surface and pushing back, as it is being screwedin, directly or via the clamping means, the moveable ring towards theother ring and tightening the clamping means around the cable.

Thereafter, the clamping means are put into action and the seal isdeformed between the two rings by one and the same movement of thefrustoconical threaded part. There is no longer, as previously, the needto carry out two successive operations for this purpose. When thefrustoconical threaded part starts to move, it pushes the moveable ringback towards the other ring, which is preferably immobilized in theflange, and then when the moveable ring is moved over a certain distanceit comes into abutment, while the threaded part continues to move,tightening the clamping means around the cable, thereby ensuring thatthe cable is mechanically clamped.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to clamping devices. Clampingdevices of this kind which are suitable for each cable diameter arealready known. When on site it is necessary to go from a small-diametercable to a larger-diameter cable, a new clamping device suitable for thenew diameter has to be provided.

The invention remedies this drawback by means of a device which allowsmost of the same clamping device to be maintained when going from asmall-diameter cable to a larger-diameter cable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the device forclamping a cable comprises a ring on which fingers lying approximatelyperpendicular to the plane of the ring are each mounted in the form of ahinge on the same side of this plane. The free end of each fingerterminates in a claw turned towards the axis. On the side of the planewhere the fingers do not lie, there is provided a means which, by shapecomplementarity, is intended to cooperate with another clamping deviceof the same shape but having a ring diameter greater or smaller than avalue equal to the largest radial dimension of the fingers.

When it is necessary to go from a small-diameter cable to alarger-diameter cable, all that is required is to remove the clampingdevice of the same shape but of smaller ring diameter which, by shapecomplementarity, cooperated with the clamping device of larger diameterthat was left in place in order immediately to obtain a clamping devicesuitable for the larger-diameter cable.

During mounting, the fingers are pushed back inwards, that is to saytowards the axis, especially by a nut, until the claws of the fingerspenetrate the cable and thus immobilize it, without any possibility ofthe cable moving longitudinally, or of rotating either. To make iteasier for the nut or other element to act by pressing on the fingers,that portion of a finger axially furthest away from the ring isbevelled, the top of the bevel being closer to the axis than the rest ofthe bevel. The nut thus comes into contact with the finger along aninclined surface which means that the finger is pushed back towards theaxis as the nut advances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the appended drawings, given solely by way of example:

FIG. 1 is a view with a cutaway of a splice protection sleeve flangeaccording to the invention before the moveable ring has been displacedby the threaded slide;

FIG. 2 is a view of a detail in FIG. 1, when the moveable ring hasreached the end-of-travel position,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a variant, and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a clamping device according tothe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The splice protection sleeve flange shown in FIG. 1 comprises a flangebody 1 defining two passages 2 for a cable C. The flange includes, asmeans for mechanically clamping the cable C, an annulus 3 extended bybars 4 uniformly spaced around the perimeter. These bars are resilientand each of them terminates in a claw 5 facing inwards and intended,when the bar is pushed back towards the axis XX′ of the passage, topenetrate the cable C and mechanically clamp it properly.

Further inside the sleeve, a seal 6, for example made of an elastomer orof what is called a gel, is interposed between a moveable ring 7 and afixed ring 8. The ring 8 is immobilized by penetrating a groove 9 madeon the inner face of the body 1. The cable C is slipped between the tworings 7, 8. The ring 7 can move along the axis XX′ as far as a stop 10(FIG. 2) made on the body 1.

A frustoconical threaded slide 11 is screwed into a tapping 12 in thebody when it is slipped into the passage 2 via its larger transversesurface. The slide 11 is threaded into the body 1 and abuts the claws 5of the bars 4. As it is being gradually screwed in, the slide 11 pushesback the annulus 3, which, in contact with the moveable ring 7, alsopushes it back towards the fixed ring 8 until this moveable ring 7 buttsagainst the stop 10. At this moment, the seal 6 highly compressedbetween the two rings 7 and 8 has flowed and ensures good sealing. Whenthe slide 11 continues to be screwed in, it pushes the bars 4 inwards,these then catching on the cable C via the claws 5 and holding itproperly in place.

In FIG. 3, the slide 13 comes directly into contact with the moveablering 14 which is itself in contact with the seal 15. At the start of themovement, the slide 13 compresses the seal 15 between the moveable ring14 and the other, fixed ring and, at the same time, the slide 13 acts,via a ramp 16, on the bars 17 of an annulus 18 for clamping the cable C.

The device shown in the FIG. 4 comprises a plastic ring 21 on whichfingers 22, also made of plastic, are each mounted in the form of softhinge. The free end of each finger 22 terminates in a claw 23 turnedtowards the axis YY′ of the ring. On the side of the plane where thefingers 22 do not lie, there is provided, on the outer face of the ring,a rib 24 intended to cooperate, by shape complementarity, with a groove25 of another ring having a diameter greater than that of the ring 21.

Each claw 22 has a bevel 26, the angle of the bevel being such that theend of the finger is approaching the axis YY′.

Of course, conversely it would be possible to provide a groove insteadof the rib 24 and a rib instead of the groove 25.

1. Splice protection sleeve comprising a flange defining a passage for acable, the flange including means for clamping the cable, which meansare intended to be positioned around the cable placed in the passage andto clamp it, and a seal interposed between two rings into which thecable is slipped and at least one of which can move along the cable andis displaced by means of a slide, wherein the slide is a frustoconicalthreaded part which is screwed into the flange by being slipped into thepassage via its larger transverse surface and while being screwed inpushes the moveable ring towards the other ring and tightens theclamping means around the cable.
 2. Sleeve according to claim 1, whereinthe other ring is immobilized in the flange.
 3. Sleeve according toclaim 1, wherein the moveable ring is immobilized at the end of travelby a stop.
 4. A splice protection sleeve flange defining a passage for acable, the flange comprising: a clamp for clamping the cable relative tothe flange, the clamp being positioned around the cable and within thepassage; a pair of rings positioned around the cable and within thepassage, at least one of the rings being movable along the cable; a sealinterposed between the two rings and positioned around the cable; and afrustoconical slide configured to be inserted into the passage; whereinthe slide displaces the moveable ring towards the other ring andtightens the clamp around the cable as the slide is inserted into thepassage; and wherein the clamp comprises an annulus and a plurality ofresilient bars extending from the annulus, each bar terminating in aninwardly facing claw that grips the cable when the slide is insertedinto the passage and engages the clamp.
 5. The flange according to claim4 wherein the slide engages the moveable ring and the clamp when theslide is inserted into the passage.
 6. A splice protection sleeve flangedefining a passage for a cable, the flange comprising: a clamp forclamping the cable relative to the flange, the clamp being positionedaround the cable and within the passage; a pair of rings positionedaround the cable and within the passage, at least one of the rings beingmovable along the cable; a seal interposed between the two rings andpositioned around the cable; and a frustoconical slide configured to beinserted into the passage; wherein the slide displaces the moveable ringtowards the other ring and tightens the clamp around the cable as theslide is inserted into the passage; and wherein the other ring isimmobilized in the flange and the moveable ring is immobilized by a stoppositioned within the passage when the slide is inserted into thepassage.